Skip to main content
Epicurious
Cookbooks

Safoi’s Moroccan Chicken Tagine

By Anna Francese Gass

2.3

(4)

A stew of chicken parts cooked with carrots lemon slices olives and more in the base of an earthenware pot with a...
Photo by Andrew Scrivani

Safoi has many beautiful tagines in her home in Michigan. A tagine is a cooking vessel used in many Moroccan recipes that's make of earthenware and has a domed top that returns all condensation to the food, keeping everything moist (genius!). It is perfect for slow-cooked foods. Stews and bone-in chicken dishes are created in this beautiful pot, and the flavor is unmatched. Meat falls off the bone and all the flavors marry together. If you invest in one, you may never use your slow cooker again.
Tagine is also the name of a type of dish commonly served in Morocco. A tagine is a slow-cooked savory and hearty stew that is made in the pot of the same name. If you already own a slow cooker you don't necessarily have to buy a tagine. But when I place my tagine on the stove and fire it up, I feel as if I've been transported to Morocco.

Cooks' Note

To make this recipe in a slow cooker, follow the directions through step 7, setting the slow cooker on high for 4 hours. Add the olives and lemon at the 3- hour-and-45-minute mark.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    1 hour 25 minutes

  • Yield

    6 servings

Ingredients

For the marinade:

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup (120 ml) canola oil

For the stew:

1 (3 1/2-pound/1.7 kg) whole chicken
7 large carrots, peeled
1 small yellow onion, minced
1/2 cup (75 g) olives (Mediterranean or Kalamata)
1/2 preserved lemon, sliced thin
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine the saffron, ginger, salt, pepper, olive oil, and canola oil in a large bowl. Set aside.

    Step 2

    Clean and thoroughly wash the chicken, then cut it into 8 pieces.

    Step 3

    Add the chicken to the bowl with the marinade, massaging the marinade into the chicken.

    Step 4

    Cut the carrots in half and remove their yellow cores.

    Step 5

    Open the tagine and lay the onion on the bottom. Arrange the carrots over the onion.

    Step 6

    Lay the chicken with all of the marinade over the vegetables. Add 1 cup (240 ml) water and cover.

    Step 7

    Cook on very low heat for 1 hour. Check at the 30-minute mark to ensure the bottom is not dry. Add another 1/2 cup (120 ml) water if necessary.

    Step 8

    In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the olives and the preserved lemon.

    Step 9

    Garnish with parsley to serve.

Cover of the book featuring the torso of a woman cutting a roll up of dough into fettuccine.
From Heirloom Kitchen: Heritage Recipes and Family Stories from the Tables of Immigrant Women © 2019 by Anna Francese Gass. Reprinted by permission of Harper Design, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Buy the full book from HarperCollins or from Amazon.
TagsStewSoup/StewMoroccanNorth AfricanAfricanChickenPoultrySaffronHerbs & SpicesCarrotRoot VegetableVegetableOliveLemonCitrusFruitWhole ChickenMainDinnerDairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreeOne-Pot MealsSimmerCookbooksHarper Collins

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

Read More
Crispy Baked Wings With Berbere Honey Glaze and Fried Garlic
Berbere is a spicy chile blend that has floral and sweet notes from coriander and cardamom, and when it’s paired with a honey glaze, it sets these wings apart from anything else you’ve ever had.
Chicken Croquettes
Rather than breaded and fried as you might expect croquettes to be, these are something more akin to a seared chicken salad patty.
Fufu
Fufu is a dish that has been passed down through many generations and is seen as a symbol of Ghanaian identity and heritage. Making fufu traditionally is a very laborious task; this recipe mimics some of that hard work but with a few home-cook hacks that make for a far easier time.
Smoky Tofu Shakshuka
This vegan version of the classic North African scramble uses soft silken tofu instead of eggs without any sacrifice of flavor.
Southern Thai Fried Chicken (Gai Tod Hat Yai)
This is one of the best fried chickens ever. From southern Thailand, gai hat yai is known for its crispy skin, great aromatics, and super juicy meat.
Charred Vegetable Ragù
This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!
Gigante Beans With Seaweed Salmoriglio
Salmoriglio is a Mediterranean sauce with herbs, garlic, and olive oil. In this version, kelp is used as the base of the sauce.
Sofrito Bolognese
An ex-boyfriend’s mom—who emigrated from Colombia—made the best meat sauce—she would fry sofrito for the base and simply add cooked ground beef, sazón, and jarred tomato sauce. My version is a bit more bougie—it calls for caramelized tomato paste and white wine—but the result is just as good.